* KOSPI supported by upbeat sentiment, gains in heavyweights
* Upward trend to continue for a while - analyst
SEOUL, July 14 (Reuters) - South Korean shares rallied early
on Friday, tracking a global rally in the wake of dovish Federal
Reserve guidance this week while heavyweights like Samsung
Electronics and SK Hynix continued their gains.
The Korea Composite Stock Price Index (KOSPI) was up
0.3 percent at 2,416.04 points as of 0159 GMT.
"It's just like the previous day. The sentiment is strong -
IT shares are doing well and such a trend is likely to last for
a while, I believe," said Lee Jae-man, a stock analyst at Hana
Financial Investment.
Tech giant Samsung Electronics climbed for a
fifth session, reaching as high as 2,554,000 won while SK Hynix
gained nearly 1 percent.
Hyundai Motor rose more than 3 percent.
Offshore investors were poised to be net sellers, offloading
25.4 billion Korean won ($22.32 million) worth of KOSPI shares
near mid-session.
The South Korean won became slightly weaker against
the dollar.
The won was quoted at 1,138.0, down 0.1 percent
compared with Thursday's close of 1,136.3.
September futures on three-year treasury bonds shed
0.04 point to 109.18.
0159 GMT Prev close
Dollar/won 1,138.0 1,136.3
Yen/won 10.0256/17 10.0349
*KTB futures 109.18 109.22
KOSPI 2,416.04 2,409.49
* Front-month futures on three-year treasury bonds
(Reporting by Dahee Kim; Editing by Sam Holmes)